


Hope (Not)

by Ma3landra



Category: Scottish Actor RPF, Split (2016)
Genre: Behind the Scenes, F/M, Freeform, Gen, James Mcavoy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-11-13 06:24:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11178933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ma3landra/pseuds/Ma3landra
Summary: Behind the scenes, bloopers, and gag reel of our favorite cast and crewtryingto film “Hope”… and failing miserably.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First, if you haven’t read my story **HOPE** , this will not make sense.
> 
> So this is for you Candace because after a night over the weekend of drinking and binging on James McAvoy movies with a couple of my girlfriends, she actually reads **HOPE** and lamented the fact that **SPLIT** doesn’t have a behind the scenes/bloopers/gag reel and commanded me to write one out because she needed a laugh. So, in my tipsy state, I produced this and edited it in my sober state.
> 
> Also, I have no actress really in mind for Hope’s character so I’m just going to continue to use her original name since I was really not feeling very extra creative and you can continue imagining her as you have been.

Hope sat down on the set of her destroyed bedroom and smiled at M. Night Shyamalan, giving him a thumbs up to let him know she was ready before her face went slack, eyes going glassy as she got into character. “And, action!” he called. Hope promptly sneezed.  
  
Twice.  
  
Smacked her head the second time and winced before apologizing. And sneezed again.  
  
“God damn it!” she whined, sniffling, and taking an offered tissue. Behind the camera, one of the producers was chuckling.  
  
  
  
  
The young woman playing Officer Jennifer Clarke went to pick up the phone, only to have the receiver stick to the base and pick up the whole phone, cradle and all. She looked around, a surprised look on her face. “I think someone might have used crazy glue…” Someone behind her started laughing.  
  
“Told you I’d do it! Pay up!”  
  
Retrying the scene with a working phone, Jenny put the receiver down after the phone call and turned to look up where her chief was supposed to be standing, only he wasn’t there. “Um…?”  
  
“He had to go to the bathroom,” someone called.  
  
  
  
  
Joseph stomped up the stairs to start the scene of domestic violence with the actress playing his teenage daughter and slammed open the door only to have it bounce right back into his face. Inside the living room, Hope laughed, smirking widely, “Ha! No abuse for you!” He opened the door, a good natured grin on his face and she shrieked as he charged her, picking her up and tickling her sides. “Uncle! Uncle!”  
  
Trying the scene again, this time, he opened the door successfully without smacking himself but then immediately tripped over the rug instead. “Are you okay?” Hope laughed, catching him. He grinned sheepishly and went right back out of the dingy apartment. “Third time’s a charm right?”  
  
  
  
  
Fred, dressed as one of the EMTs, stood outside of the ambulance and suddenly ripped open his jacket, revealing a neon pink unicorn tee-shirt underneath.  
  
Later on, Fred, jacket closed to hide his fabulous shirt, lifted Hope’s stretcher onto the back of the ambulance only to trip on something and smack his face into the back of the truck. “I’m okay! The unicorn will heal me!”  
  
  
  
  
Getting wheeled down hallway, Hope suddenly threw a head-hugger plush at the doctor who screamed a very manly scream before everyone began laughing. “Jeezus, Hope!” Darren continued to laugh, tossing the stuffed ‘animal’ between his hands. “No more watching the trailer for Alien: Covenant!” Her gray eyes got wide, a look of horror crossing her features.  
  
“But I love Alien!”  
  
The plush was pushed up against her face.  
  
  
  
  
“I’d like to speak with you about your twenty-three Soul Marks,” Betty Buckley said, smiling kindly.  
  
Hope promptly sneezed. “Not again,” she groaned.  
  
  
  
  
Betty Buckley went to write notes, or at least look like it was happening when the pen suddenly began leaking ink everywhere. “Um… my pen exploded.” Hope wrinkled her nose, grinning.  
  
Cuing the scene again, Betty said, “For my first question about your Soul Marks, I’d like to… I forget what I’d like to know.” She looked around at the crew behind the camera and said, “I’m sorry, what’s my line?” Hope snorted, happy it wasn’t her messing up this time.  
  
Trying the scene a third time, Betty tried again and got farther this time. “Are any of them all in the same handwriting—” There was a knock on the door and James McAvoy poked his shaved head inside the hospital room.  
  
“You’re too early!” Hope laughed.  
  
His grin immediately faded. “Oops.”  
  
M. Night Shyamalan sighed. “Let’s try it again!”  
  
  
  
  
This time, James came in on time only to stumble in his heels. “Hoo dae ye wumen wulk in these things?” he grumbled, rubbing his hands down his long gray skirt.  
  
“With lots of practice,” Betty grinned at him.  
  
James stumbled a second time and stamped his foot. “Aam sorry. Aam sorry,” he called, waving off his mistake. “Le’s try thes again.”  
  
  
  
  
Turning to Abigail, James added in a believable Southern Virginian accent, “Are you alright? Should I go get the doctor?”  
  
“No! Wait!” Abigail gasped, reaching out immediately to try and grab the male actor only to cry out as she began to fall out of bed. Luckily, James caught her. “My hero,” she laughed, holding onto his strong shoulders as he muscled her back up onto the mattress. “I’m sorry for that, and thank you.”  
  
He glanced down and flushed. “Glad you’re wearing shorts.” She flushed and pulled at the very short hem of the purple ballet shorts she had adorned. She muttered an apology and he just laughed, gently squeezing her shoulder.  
  
  
  
  
James went to open the hospital room door only to meet resistance. “Um… I don’t think it’s supposed to be locked.”  
  
  
  
  
James went to untuck her leg only for Hope to twitch and open one eye up towards him sheepishly. “Yoo’re nae supposed tae move,” he reminded her.  
  
“I know. I’m sorry!” she squeaked. “That just really tickled.” The Scottish actor just chuckled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Insider interview with Hope...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, thank you to: **Gallons_of_the_Stuff** , **LadyRedStar** , **zerousy** , and **Jimintomylife** for your reviews and letting me know what you guys thinks.
> 
> And thanks go to: **Gallons_of_the_Stuff** , **LizRenKnight** , **zerousy** , **Ongaku_Ato_Kakikomi** , and all my unnamed guests for your kudos, as well.

Hope flushed when she was first asked about how she had met director M. Night Shyamalan.  
  
She admitted, “I had never met him before and I mean… I knew his name… but I didn’t _actually_ know what he looked like,” her cheeks flushed pink, “so when I was sat down on this squishy couch in a little office and in came this man in who sat beside me, I was like ‘Who is this?’ He didn’t offer me his name, he just started talking to me and yeah I thought it was a little weird but I went along with it.”  
  
She crossed her arms for a moment, shifted her weight and then unfolded them again.  
  
“It was while we were talking about just… the most random things,” she wrinkled her nose as she tried to remember, “that I suddenly understood that _this_ was M. Night Shyamalan and I started flushing and stuttering and he just… got this grin on his face as he saw the realization. Then he finally got down to business and started talking about my character— _characters_ , I should say. And when he told me he got James to play my counterpart and I was _even more_ of a nervous wreck because he’s such a great actor and I was this little nobody who had only gotten bit parts here and there in, like, commercials, and stuff, and the online Youtube miniseries by my friend Marissa where I actually play a girl with split personalities, although it’s only two compared to the five I was being asked to portray here.”  
  
She chewed on the side of her thumb.  
  
“James was just so nice and he… he would tease me a bit here and there but it was never malicious and he was so sweet and it just became so easy to realize that he was just a normal person despite him being a… a famous actor in quite a few movies I like,” she admitted, knee bouncing quickly. “And it was so surprising to find out that he likes a few of the same things I do and he’s such a nerd. Off set, we would sometimes throw around references back and forth and he and I would just look at each other and laugh. Though only Haley… and Kyle – he was helping with the props and the set – understood my references to **SAO Abridged** or **DBZA**. But overall it was just so _perfect_ to work with such wonderful people who went out of their way to help me get into character or _back into_ character.” She stopped bouncing her knee.  
  
“And how did you find out about your character?” her interviewer asked.  
  
Hope grinned, pushing back wayward curls from her face.  
  
“Ah, so I got handed a script and I started to read through it and I was like… ‘wait – what?’ but then having worked on similar material, I realized what he was going for, having sort of acted out, like I mentioned, in my friend’s Youtube miniseries – **Chasing Daisies** – though my characters didn’t have the depth these characters automatically did. I had a much longer time to develop their depth and their character so this was sort of challenging. Luckily, Abigail is actually close to Karen in personality so it wasn’t too difficult to just shift around some of the behavioral traits a bit and to get a slightly better reading of her history because M. Night Shyamalan has _pages_ of backstory about these characters he can’t actually fit into his movies. And that helped even more.” She pushed the same curls that had drifted back into her face behind her ear once more. “However, if I hadn’t I think I would have felt even more out of depth because the movie has bits of romance, of horror, bits of drama and psychological thrills, and even hints of science fiction too so it was very interesting to see it all come together into this… this different thing than most people are probably used to seeing.”  
  
Hope began to fiddle with the small ornament of Mjolnir she had dangling from a black cord around her neck, twisting the cord round and round, making the small hammer spin incessantly.  
  
Being asked about the different personalities she played, Hope cast her eyes down towards the rug and scratched the side of her nose with the back of her thumb as she replied, “So trying to play two different personalities is a bit of a challenge. Playing four or five, and sometimes all in the same shot, is very… or at least I found it to be kind of… emotionally draining on top of the challenge because, from what I know of **Chasing Daisies** , the audience can get so attached to a character and then you suddenly have to switch and make it believable that you are this new person without alienating that previous character and keeping it interesting. It’s like trying to throw a car into reverse when you’re still moving forward at like forty, fifty miles an hour. So unless, or at least, for me, I have both personalities whispering in my head, then it’s a bit more difficult to shift gears. Luckily, I had James to sort of bounce ideas back and forth with.”  
  
Seeing the man in question standing back in the shadows, watching her first interview, she flushed, grinning as he smiled encouragingly back at her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, _if_ there is a mini YouTube series called **Chasing Daisies** , I don’t know it. I’m hoping that it’s completely made up. I just wanted Hope to have a tiny bit of experience with the material and that is ultimately why Shyamalan took a chance and chose her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Video Diary, Entry One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, thank you to: **LadyRedStar** and **zerousy** for your reviews and letting me know what you guys thinks. And thanks go to all my unnamed guests for your kudos as well.

Video Title: **Behind the Scenes of Split w/Hope** ; Published on September 27, 2016

* * *

The screen flicked to life and instantly lit upon Hope, sitting on a hotel bed in an oversized black hoodie and plaid pajama pants. The wall lamp behind her was on as the yellow glow fought off the shadows of evening.  
  
“Hey guys!” she greeted the old digital camera with a wry smile before pushing her thin black framed glasses up her nose. “I know it’s been a while since I’ve made… or starred in… a YouTube video but as I mentioned in Marissa’s recording… a… month ago?… for me at least… I’m, uh, actually doing a real filming job with a whole crew and some pretty big name actors! It’s all super exciting and since the movie filming only just started, this video is going to be old when I finally post it. Sorry,” she made a face. “ _However_ ” her grin returned after her hands also waved around erratically for emphasis, “I have permission — written permission that is — to film anything I want between takes or before or after hours as long I don’t post it until the film gets released at Fantastic Fest in September. M. Night Shyamalan is planning for us to be done filming in two months so that everything can get edited on time.” Here she leaned forward and grabbed a thin packet of paper and presented it for the camera. “This is my signed agreement to behave.”  
  
The sound of a door opening off screen sounded and the blond lowered the paperwork. “What are you doing?”  
  
Hope, now fiddling with the Mjolnir she had dangling from a black cord around her neck, twisting the cord round and round, making the small hammer spin incessantly, turned to look up. “Making a… uh… video diary,” she replied sheepishly. She lifted the camera, the screen shaking a little bit and then it turned to see a young brunet woman putting her purse down onto the hotel bureau and removing her light jacket and ballet flats. “And this is my roommate, Anya Taylor-Joy,” the younger woman waved with a tired smile, “whom I _won’t_ bug anymore tonight since she had a really long flight this morning.” Hope turned the camera back around and smiled. “So this is where I’m going to cut off. Night guys!”  
  
The screen went black.

* * *

The video flickered back to life and Hope was now standing in what looked like a service hallway, the walls painted semi-glossy white.  
  
“Hey guys! Day one being on set! It is currently…” She juggled the camera and then checked her black, bulky watch on her left wrist, “four twenty-one in the morning. The only reason I am _so_ awake is because I have been chugging coffee for the last thirty minutes or so.” The camera trembled as she walked forward, gray eyes scanning the area. Behind her, the camera took in the brick wall of what would later be revealed as her ‘prison cell’.  
  
Sitting on one of the cots and placing the camera on the other one, she crouched over her knees and glanced around once more, the dim light glinting off her glasses, whispering, “So… I’ve met a few more of my costars and I. Am. Freaking. Out.” Her gaze flickered about before settling forward again, “I’m working with James McAvoy!” Her grin nearly split her face in half. “I’ve only spoken with him once so far but he’s so unbelievably nice, even _this_ early in the morning!”  
  
She glanced up when someone called her name, made a face and quickly turned off her camera.

* * *

The camera turned on a third time.  
  
Hope was once more in her hotel room but she was staging her camera on top of the bureau high enough to take in both beds and who lounged around on those beds. To the left on Hope’s bed was Hayley Lu Richardson in soft, light pink shorts, a tank, an un-zippered gray hoodie, and brightly colored striped toe socks. On Anya’s bed was the brunet herself in a mid-thigh length red and white Coca-Cola sleep shirt over matching red sleep capris and Jessica Sula in white ankle socks, gray sweat pants and a wine red short sleeved V-neck shirt.  
  
The clock on the bedside table read 6:04PM.  
  
They were given an early night for having started so early in the morning.  
  
“Alright, guys,” Hope greeted the camera, “this will be the last recording of this particular video.” Stepping to the side, she gestured with an open hand to the other three females in the room, “These are a couple of my costars. You saw Anya briefly before and this is Jessica and Hayley.” The younger girls all waved at the camera. “Thanks for letting me do this, you guys.” Hope crawled over Hayley and sat against the headboard, pulling a pillow into her lap. She was wearing her black pullover again and the same red and gray plaid sleep pants.  
  
Hayley patted a hand on Hope’s bent knee, assuring her, “It’s cool. It’s kinda ingenious you’re doing this. For me, I’d use it as a learning tool.”  
  
Hope thanked the other blonde, stating that was the intent and picked up a previously abandoned slice of pizza from the bedside table. “So, I know we all sat down to do the read through last week but do any of you guys ever find it difficult to pull the character from the paper into play?”  
  
Jessica shrugged, swallowing her own bite of pizza. “When you start on a project, if it’s really different from anything you’ve done before, or, like with me and my first role ever, it can be kinda hard but it’s okay that people make mistakes. Once you relaxed today, you were doing really well, despite some of your dialogue slips.” She reached for her drink, thanking the brunet beside her when she helped her grab it. She took a swig before adding, “I’m just happy to be working with James.”  
  
Hayley grinned. “He is so sweet!”  
  
Hope flushed. “Yeah, he is,” she agreed.  
  
Anya cocked her head, narrowing her eyes and she grinned widely. “You have a crush on him, don’t you?” It wasn’t meant as an accusation.  
  
The oldest woman in the hotel room blushed darker, her mouth gaping slightly. “Do _you_?” she spluttered defensively.  
  
The brunet lifted and dropped a shoulder once more before stating. “He’s handsome but I’m not really into short guys.” She was only two and a half inches shorter than the Scottish actor.  
  
Hope groaned, whining plaintively, “All of you are taller than me.” The other girls laughed at her expense, inoffensively.  
  
“I love his eyes,” Jessica sighed. “They’re so pretty.”  
  
Hayley giggled. “They _are_ pretty dreamy but he’s too old for me.” Turning to Hope, she added, “You’re the oldest of us and he’s what… twelve years older than you?” The woman nodded though she pointed out that her birthday was coming up. “That’s not… _too_ terrible, if you’re into guys over a decade older than you.” The woman hummed in vague response. “So, you never did answer the question though… You totally have a crush on him, right?”  
  
“I… uh…” the twenty-four-year-old hung her head in shame holding up her hand and gesturing with her thumb and forefinger a small measurement. “I mean… was it so terribly… _obvious_ today?”  
  
The brunet across from her shrugged. “Not really. I think James is a little dense when it comes to things like that but none of us have ever worked with him like that so… maybe he knows but if he did… he’s obviously professional enough to ignore it while he’s.. y’know… ‘in the zone’. You just came off super nervous that first… hour…?” The other girls agreed. “Then once you really settled into it, everything went a lot smoother.”  
  
Hope nodded then flinched. “I hope you guys don’t think I’m using this as an ego stroke or anything,” she suddenly rushed. “I’m sorry.”  
  
The other girls glanced at each other. Anya spoke up, “You said earlier this is your first **big** project. Like ever. Right?” Hope nodded. “It’s okay to be nervous and to ask if you’re doing okay. I think we all did the same thing when we first started out.” The other two girls nodded again, adding their own verbal agreements. “Anyway,” she shook both hands, as if wiping the conversation away, “let’s just take this time to relax and get to know each other a little better.”  
  
“What did you have in mind?” Jessica asked.  
  
Anya shrugged. “I was thinking we could go around and share a couple of things before we start ‘Never Have I Ever…’?” The girls grinned and agreed to play along before turning in early. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> By request of **LadyRedStar** back on chapter two, an interview with James and Hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I am so, so sorry for not updating last week. I'm thinking my computer got damaged sometime on the way back from my trip down to Austin, Texas and because of that, it ended up crashing on me last Thursday. So, lo and behold, I have started putting everything up onto my Google Documents so this can't happen again. So, thank you for being patient with me.
> 
> Now, this is only a part 1 because James still has more to say -- in chapter 6... I promise! For the next chapter, I have it halfway written, in honor of **zerousy** who asked for more bloopers. I promise they are coming!
> 
> Now, shout outs: **zerousy** and **Gallons_of_the_Stuff** \-- thank you both for your wonderful reviews.
> 
> To all of my unnamed guests, thank you so much!

James handed a water bottle to Hope, advising her, “It’s guid tae dreich yer throat noo sae ye don’t gie dry muth halfway thru while talkin' sae much.”  
  
She nodded and broke the seal, taking a few small sips instead of the larger gulps she might have had she been by herself, also conscious of her freshly applied lipstick, courtesy of the makeup artists offset. She took the time to take him in and tried to will the blush off her cheeks. His head was still shaved as they had a few more weeks of shooting to do but she happily agreed with herself that he was still a fine looking man. For their interview with some talk-show host Hope had never heard of, he was wearing a deep blue button up today that totally made his eyes pop under a medium gray waistcoat and matching colored slacks that were closely pressed.  
  
_‘And it’s Wednesday,’_ she smirked. _‘Waistcoat Wednesday!’_  
  
He caught her grin and raised a brow. “Whut?”  
  
She flushed at having gotten caught. “Nothing,” she assured him. His brow raised higher. “Nothing bad, promise.” He lowered his chin, his other brow raising on his forehead. “It’s just a thing on Reddit -- it’s Waistcoat Wednesday.” She gestured to his outfit and raised her own brows.  
  
He rolled his eyes good naturedly and retorted, “Whut abit ye ‘en?”  
  
Confusion crossed her features as she glanced down. “What about me?” she asked, nervousness in her voice. “Is there something wrong with my dress?” She was wearing a long sleeved burgundy dress that fell a few inches above her knee that laced up the bust and was trimmed with black lace on the sleeves and hem. He took her hand and spun her beneath their arms so he could see the matching black velvet strings in the slightly corseted back. She completed her look with black thigh high socks, black and white saddleback styled stilettos, a plain black headband and a single black cord necklace, the blue gem resting on her sternum. When she came to face him again, she murmured, “I think I look fine.”  
  
“Yuh doo,” he assured her quickly. “Was jist askin’ if thaur was a specialty threid fur hoo yoo’re dressed as well.”  
  
Hope shrugged. “I dunno.” She glanced over his shoulder and he turned just as the show host walked up to them, grinning a very white grin that nearly split his face.  
  
The talk show host, a hispanic man named Adam Acosta, was very happy to have them on set to be able to talk about **_Split_** and the making of and ushered them out to the small loveseat couch provided. James leaned back and took hand to help her walk across the overly plush carpet in her three inch heels which he had heard her protest about. When they got into view of the crowd, a cheering roar went up and James looked up, smirking despite the bright lights shining into his eyes, even waving a bit with his free hand. Hope focused on not tripping as they neared the small couch. Butterflies tickled her stomach walls when put himself in the middle as a barrier between her and the show host. Hope shook her head slightly as if to jar the thought away because she was obviously reading too much into it.  
  
She finally looked up and felt her jaw slacken seeing a poster with **_I love you Hope!_** and another of a blown up frame shot of her and James while he was portraying Dennis and she Mercedes and he had her up in his arms with her legs about his waist. She flushed at the memory of that particular scene they had had to portray and glanced shyly over at James who had also noticed that particular poster. He waggled his brows and grinned at her. It was her turn to roll her eyes at him.  
  
“So, we’re just going to play an extended trailer of the movie and then we’ll get on with our interview,” Adam said, settling himself across from the pair who both nodded.  
  
The lights dimmed slightly and both turned up to the giant screen as the trailer began to play. With her eyes on the trailer, Hope failed to notice James smiling fondly at her. She did start slightly as his fingers intertwined gently with hers and she was glad for the low lighting to hide the flush on her face.  
  
The lighting returned to full brightness and the crowd cheered wildly. James pulled away before the host could see and comment. “And that,” Adam announced, “as way of introduction, was the trailer for the new movie **_Split_** and to all our wonderful fans both in this studio and out there, may I present James McAvoy and Hope Maesovic!” The clapping got louder and then petered out once more. “Am I saying that right? Mae-so-vic?”  
  
Hope nodded. “You are,” she assured him with a charming smile. “You’d be surprised how many people can’t actually pronounce it.”  
  
“I’m sure,” Adam chuckled. “Where does it originate from?”  
  
“From either the Czech Republic or Slovakia but no one in my family is absolutely sure since it was my great-grandparents that came through Ellis Island and instead put Poland as their home of origin.”  
  
“So that was a lie - Poland?”  
  
Hope shrugged, “According to my father, yes.”  
  
Adam nodded, an impressed look on his face. “Any other interesting heritage?”  
  
“I don’t know if it’s interesting,” Hope grinned and forced herself not to shrug again, instead shifting in her seat slightly and crossing her legs at the ankles, “but apparently I’ve got some… Lithuanian, some Ukrainian, a little Swedish, Danish, French, German, and like ‘one-sixty-fourth’ Cherokee in me as well.” Her hands dropped back into her lap from adding the air quotes. “I don’t know how true it is since ancestry dot com can’t find seem to find my heritage.”  
  
Adam grinned and then shifted forward. “Alright, to get back on track, this is your first… _official_ … movie, show, thing.” Hope nodded. “How was it going on set and seeing the other cast members for the first time?”  
  
Hope saw James smirk from the corner of her eye but quickly answered, “So the first day we all had to get up super early - like 4am. I sorta just made a beeline for the coffee.”  
  
“Ye nearly bowled me ower,” James added. Hope turned to him and opened her mouth to protest. He quickly cut her off, “Dorn’t deny it coz ye realized whit ye did, apologized profusely an’ ran awa’.” Her cheeks went very pink at that. “It’s fihne. It was actually sweit ye got sae flustered.” Turning to the host, he added, “Ah quickly learned nae tae gie atween ‘er an’ ‘er coffee in th’ mornings.” Adam laughed along with a good portion of the crowd. The Scottish actor smiled at her and patted her knee.  
  
“So, how was it working with everyone?”  
  
Hope continued to smile easily. “Everyone was so nice and… and _super_ helpful,” she replied. “I was rooming with Anya and she and I got along really well, surprisingly -- only because I usually get along so much better with guys but Anya and Jessica and Hayley were all really great. The four of us only had… one fight but it was because tensions were high among all of us. But aside of that, working with everyone was a lot of fun. I looked forward to coming to… well… work every day but it never felt like work.”  
  
Adam finally turned to James. “And was working on **_Split_** just as much fun for you?”  
  
The Scotsman nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning slightly against Hope. “Yeah, it was, actually,” he agreed. “M was really exciting tae wark wi’ an’ Ah foond oot every day was gonnae be a fin new experience wi’ either Hope ur wi’ Betty. Every day was a fuhn, new challenge. Hoo was M gonnae to… _whut_ fin new aspect ay Th’ Horde ur Hope's Group waur we gonnae uncowre t’day? Whut new thin’ was M gonnae flin’ at us next? Plus, helpin’ Hope wark oan ‘er Scottish accent fur Alistair was nice, thocht it was a bit ay a challenge at first.” He grinned at the young woman and added, “When Ah first met Hope, _efter _th’ first coffee incident, she was… suh v’ry quiet… an’ wide eyed but… she was _suh_ eager tuh prove herself… tae jist abit ev’ryun. An’ it was jist suh _inspirin’___ tuh watch ‘er goo frum thes shy wee thin’ tuh either a confident yoong woman, ur an overly excited yooth, ur e’en a male. Ah woods loove tae wark together wi’ Hope again in th’ future.”  
  
Hope flushed, grinning. Adam asked, “I take it that the sentiment is the same?”  
  
“Definitely,” the blonde nodded. “I really enjoyed playing opposite James and I would love to do it again.”  
  
Adam grinned. “Is there anyone else you would love to work with in the future?”  
  
The blonde smirked. “Oh yeah, I have a whole list of people I would love to work with.”  
  
“And who might those be?”  
  
Hope let out a breathy laugh. “Well, of the big names I would love to work with Johnny Depp… Charlize Theron… Hugh Jackman… Michael Fassbender in the next Alien movie…” James shook his head good naturedly, “and just about anyone under the Marvel brand name… just to name a few.”  
  
The host leaned forward on his knees, “You said big names. Are there any ‘small names’ you want… you would love to work with? I mean, what - what do you consider ‘small’?”  
  
Hope’s face turned into an impish smirk and James laughed, rolling his eyes, knowing exactly how she was going to answer. “So, because I’m a fan they’re not small to _me_ but because I still have to explain who they are to quite a few people, I guess they could still be considered small unlike y’know Sigourney Weaver and Bruce Willis. So, I would actually really, really love to work with a production company called **Rooster Teeth** in whatever capacity they would use me as.” A few voices from the audience let out wild cheers.  
  
Adam cocked his head. “I’m not sure I know what that is.”  
  
The blonde allowed herself to shrug. “That’s fine. And that’s exactly what I mean because I’m about to explain who they are,” she said. “ **Rooster Teeth** is a production company based out of Austin, Texas and it was founded by, let’s see if I can remember their last names… Burnie Burns, Gus… Sorola, Geoff… Ramsey, Matt Hullum, and Joel Heyman.” The Scottish actor rolled his eyes again as a few more cheers went up from the audience. “They - Burnie, Matt, Joel, Gus, and Geoff - were the ones who started things like Red Vs. Blue, RWBY, Achievement Hunter, Lazer Team, Let’s Play, Camp Camp, Day 5, Immersion, and a _whole_ bunch of other stuff too.”  
  
“I’ve heard of Red Vs. Blue,” Adam admitted but I have no idea what the rest of that is.  
  
Hope shrugged a third time. “RWBY and Camp Camp are also part of their animated productions. Lazer Team and Day 5 are like action movies or shows they’ve produced. Achievement Hunter and Immersion are some of the guys or girls playing either games or bringing to life games and still actively playing and it’s a lot of fun.”  
  
The host turned towards the camera. “Alright, everyone. We’re going to go on break. We’ll be back after a word from our sponsors.” The feed cut. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> By request of **zerousy** , a new batch of bloopers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to **LadyRedStar** , **zerousy** , **ChocoManga** , and **Bulma** for your reviews and kudos!

James and Hope were watching the scene where ‘Mary’ got home to tell The System she had met one of their Mates and suddenly the blonde frowned, asking quietly as the on-screen James kicked off sneakers, “Weren’t you wearing heels in the hospital scene?”  
  
The Scotsman frowned and then grimaced. “Don’t teel th’ directur,” he muttered.

* * *

“It’s a new cellphone,” the older redhead said over her shoulder from the front seat of the car. “You’re a young woman and you’ll need a way to…” she paused, and then promptly sneezed. Twice.  
  
“It’s a new cellphone,” the woman tried again a few minutes later. “You’re a young woman and you’ll n-” The double sneeze cut her off faster this time.  
  
Hope commented from the back of the vehicle, “Someone’s thinking about you.”  
  
Faith frowned. “I thought the wives tale was three times?”  
  
The blonde shrugged and then Grace sneezed a third time. The women glanced at each other and laughed. “Hey, I’m just happy it’s not me this time.”

* * *

James sat in the small break room in his Philadelphia Zoo uniform and his phone went off, sounding like someone was puking. He frowned, disgusted.

* * *

Abigail sat up in her hospital bed as the male nurse walked in and her mouth dropped. Instead of the scrub top he was supposed to be wearing, he was wearing a tight neon pink t-shirt with the words ‘ ** _Bitch I'm Adorable_** ’ printed across his chest with a pouting Chibi Vegeta beneath the lettering. Her face went beat red and she couldn’t help but laugh.  
  
“I need an adult,” she joked, recognizing the **_DBZA_** joke.

* * *

James grinned at Hope’s portable camera screen and murmured quietly, “Sae, I’m hopin’ they’re still thaur but it was un ay th’ most adorable sights ‘at I’m hopin’ tae shaw ye.” He turned the screen about and stepped slowly, quietly into one of the breakrooms on set where not only Hayley but Jessica and Hope were all curled up together on the large, cushy L-shaped couch, all three of them obviously out cold, if the light snoring was anything to go by.  
  
Jessica was spread out the most with her legs over one of the armrests, her torso curled around the blonde’s thighs and her head on Hope’s stomach while Hayley’s skull rested on the lounge, her head balanced next to the blonde’s where the sectional connected. James turned the camera back around and whispered, “Looks loch gettin’ kidnapped by Dennis wair them ut.”

* * *

Hope sat on her hospital bed and danced to “ **Bad Moon Rising** ” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, while the actresses who played Faith and Grace danced along with her. M just stood to the side, laughed and shook his head.

* * *

“Have you met her? Have you met Patricia?”  
  
The blonde actress held up a hand to reveal the smeared lettering. “Nope because she’s not my Mate anymore.” Glancing back towards the people behind the camera she asked, “Can we get a fan or something in here? I’m sweating my Marks off.”

* * *

Hope sat in a white sports bra and her little purple shorts in a high chair getting her Soul Marks painted on by three different people while a fourth painted a bruise around her eye and over her nose. She saw the camera and wiggled her fingers in greeting. “I’m trying not to react. It really tickles!” she commented, gesturing to the artists decorating her skin.

* * *

James sat in the small break room in his Philadelphia Zoo uniform and his phone went off with the distinction of a wet fart. “Serioosly?” He sat back, frowning and appearing almost like Dennis.

* * *

Hope struggled to put on the sweatpants in the hospital bathroom and slipped on the other pant leg, falling on her backside with a high pitched yelp. “Cut!”  
  
Having succeeded putting on the pants this time around, Hope reached for the shirt she was supposed to wear and began to slide it over her head only to hear a loud ‘ _riippp_ ’. She paused and slowly took off the suddenly torn garment. “Oops?” she whispered, looking up in surprise. “I didn’t mean to.” Someone barked out a laugh.

* * *

“Hey sweetie,” the younger redheaded actress held up Mary’s yellow note. “I found this on your bedside table though I don’t know if it was meant for you or not.” Hope reached for it and her smile faltered after she unfolded it before she burst into laughter. “What is it?” The blonde presented a picture of the IMGUR dickbutt.

* * *

James sat in the small break room in his Philadelphia Zoo uniform and his phone went off; it was a howler monkey’s call. He sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.

* * *

The three were walking through the parking garage when Faith suddenly slipped in a puddle. “I’m okay!”

* * *

Hope opened her phone in the back of the SUV and laughed. The IMGUR dickbutt had been placed as her background.

* * *

James sat in the small break room in his Philadelphia Zoo uniform and his phone went off; it was the Mario death tune. “Is ‘at th’ reit un? Finally?”

* * *

Leaning against the counter in the breakroom was James, still in his ‘Mary’ attire, sans heels, Hope leaned next to him in black leggings and an oversized blue button up, the sleeves rolled halfway up her forearms. She was teasing him about the pumps he had had to wear and he shoved her shoulder playfully. “Let’s see ye wulk in ‘em, shaa we?”  
  
“They’re _waayyy_ too big for me,” Hope laughed, twirling the shoe about by its short, thick heel. “Besides, I’d have thought you had experience with heels… especially after **_Filth_**.” She wiggled her brows.  
  
The Scotsman groaned. “Nae ye tay. Dornt ye start.” 


End file.
